I read the article “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send
Quick, Voluminous Messages.” This article is about the scent bacteria carried
by hyenas and how that relates to animal-to-animal communication. Hyenas are
able to leave behind a paste, individual to each animal, which is comparable to
leaving a message to someone. This symbiotic bacterium that is left behind is used
as an information bank for every hyena that smells the paste left behind by
another hyena. One animal can know everything about another just by coming in
contact with their paste. A study was recently done on hyenas, leading to the
discovery of the complex and diverse system of odor producing bacteria possessed
by hyenas, giving them the ability to conduct this type of advanced molecular
communication. It was also discovered that there is a major variance between
male and female hyenas, and also hyenas of different species and origins. After
these discoveries, the scientific team that conducted this research stated “The next phase of
this research will be to manipulate the bacterial communities in hyenas' scent
glands to test if their odors change in predictable ways."
This
discovery is so important to science because previous to this, there was no
prior knowledge of the magnitude of the hyena’s ability to communicate through
these odorous pastes. There had been studies conducted before, but using such
traditional methods, no real data or proof was collected. These discoveries
could also lead into a plethora of other scientific experiments, including
replicating this experiment with other mammals to see if they posses the same
ability as the hyenas. All animals have different ways of producing scents and
sending messages, and this study could bring the scientific community closer to
discovering what is behind this natural animal instinct.
I
think this article was very interesting and was written very well. I especially
liked the analogy of the scent being compared to twitter. In a tweet, you can
only use 140 characters to get your point across, but a lot can be revealed in
those 140 characters, and the author of this piece was very creative in
relating that concept to the idea that these animals can leave a little piece
of themselves behind that can reveal a lot to other animals. I think that this
was also a way to grab the attention of a younger audience and make such a
complex and scientific article become more relatable. Overall, I think it was a
great article, and it was very interesting to read. I would love to learn more
about the results of the upcoming experiements.
SOURCE:
Michigan State
University. "Bacteria may allow animals to send quick, voluminous
messages." ScienceDaily, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013
This article and Sabine’s review of the article cover the pretty complicated topic of animal communication through scent bacteria. Because the subject is so complex, I think Sabine should be commended on her clear and concise summary of the article. She somehow managed to sum up its major points in a couple of sentences. Sabine’s evidence, supporting the facts she states, is also particularly well presented. For example, she references specific scientific studies, and she also quotes the article. Perhaps the most well-presented aspect of Sabine’s review is her explanation of the importance of the discovery. First, she reflects on previous thoughts and theories prior to the discovery, and proceeds to connect the hyena discovery to all animals, saying that, “all animals have different ways of producing scents and sending messages, and this study could bring the scientific community closer to discovering what is behind this natural animal instinct.”
ReplyDeleteTo make the review even stronger, Sabine could have perhaps better-supported some statements in her last paragraph by giving examples. For instance, she could have provided examples from the article that were, “interesting” or “written very well.” Furthermore, Sabine could have maybe made a more concrete connection between the discovery and humanity. I, too, enjoyed the tweeting analogy from the article but she could have skipped this part and connected the article more to its readers.
Before reading the article and its review, I was not at all aware of this discovery. I find it incredibly fascinating that hyenas are able to leave behind a paste that is essentially an, “information bank” left behind for other hyenas. It is remarkable that the paste is unique to each individual hyena, much like a fingerprint to a human.
Sabine did an excellent job summarizing the article, “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send Quick, Voluminous Messages,” by writing that scientists have discovered that hyenas leave a paste, unique to each individual, which is like leaving a message for someone. Thus, the bacteria in the paste are like the ink on business cards, providing information about the hyena to other hyenas that smell it. In addition, Sabine did a great job connecting the article to how this impacts the scientific community as well as the world. For example, in her review, she states, “These discoveries could also lead into a plethora of other scientific experiments, including replicating this experiment with other mammals to see if they possess the same ability as the hyenas…this study could bring the scientific community closer to discovering what is behind this natural animal instinct.” Lastly, Sabine recognizes how the author of the article tries to connect the main idea to the everyday world to help the reader comprehend more. For instance, Sabine writes, “In a tweet, you can only use 140 characters to get your point across, but a lot can be revealed in those 140 characters, and the author of this piece was very creative in relating that concept to the idea that these animals can leave a little piece of themselves behind that can reveal a lot to other animals.”
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sabine’s review is easy to understand and is on a scientific level, she should have included some names of the authors of the study. Next, she could have done some extra research to investigate if other organisms have this ability.
After reading the article and its review, I learned that the paste left behind by a hyena is comparable to leaving a message to someone. Overall, Sabine’s article and review are interesting and informative.
The review by my classmate Sabine is very well written. She reviewed the article “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send Quick, Voluminous Messages.” It is about how hyenas are able to leave a paste that contains bacteria. These bacteria can then be used by other hyenas to learn about the hyena that left the paste. Sabine did a good job displaying the information from the article in a simple way. The topic itself is not very complex in wording, but she was able to convey in a simple and easy way that even someone not familiar with biology would understand. Sabine also did a good job with explaining the significance of this specific experiment that was conducted and written about in the article. She explains how past experiments and studies have been conducted, but this one is the first to show positive data. It shows how science and experiments are still changing today. Sabine also did a good job of relating how this experiment could lead to other experiments regarding animal communication. It is an interesting suggestion that Sabine made. I would have not read this and thought about conducting other experiments.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the review is very well written, there are a couple things Sabine could have done to make the review even stronger. Sabine could have talked about the experiment itself. It would be interesting to hear about what was done to prove this. What was the procedure? How did the scientists know it would possibly provide positive results? Sabine could have also utilized quotations from the article or the scientists to back up what she is saying. She could have especially used this in the last paragraph. Despite these improvements, the review was still very well written.
Sabine definitely chose an interesting topic. I have heard of communication between animals before, but never understood how it happened. Sabine’s topic brought light to my questions. This was a very well written review and an enjoyable read.
Sabine’s review of the article “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send Quick, Voluminous Messages” was extremely well done. One of the greatest aspects of Sabine’s review was how she was able to discuss a relatively hard subject. The idea that these hyenas can relay messages to each other through this ‘paste’ is both phenomenal and interesting. Sabine was able to take this hard confusing topic and summarize it into language that was easy to understand. This enabled me to enjoy this idea of the paste more. A second thing that Sabine did well was that she used some good vocabulary words. This is rarely seen when reading these reviews and her use of the words like “plethora” were well incorporated into the article. Being able to use these types of vocabulary words is a good skill to have when writing. Lastly a final thing Sabine did well was that she connected her article to a social media –Twitter – which allows the reader to more clearly understand what the paste is since people understand twitter more than they understand hyenas.
ReplyDeleteThere were some aspects of the review that could have been improved however. For one I believe that Sabine should have proof read her article. There were a couple spelling and grammar mistakes in the review. If she decided to proof read and correct the errors it would augment the strength of her essay. Another thing I wish was in the article was a process on how the hyenas are able to make this paste. This is very interesting topic and it would have been nice to learn more about it in the review.
The most interesting thing I learned from reading this article was the fact that hyenas are able to transmit messages through these pastes. It is very interesting that animals can know information about other animals from these pastes.
I read Sabine’s article summary of the article “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send Quick, Voluminous Messages.” This article is about the scent bacteria carried by hyenas and how that relates to animal-to-animal communication. This topic was fairly confusing. One thing that was done well was that, although the original article was difficult to understand, Sabine did a good job of explaining it. Sabine also used evidence very well to prove what she was saying. She did this when she used various quotes, and referred to specific scientific studies. One of the quotes that she used effectively was, “It was also discovered that there is a major variance between male and female hyenas, and also hyenas of different species and origins”. The last thing that was done well was her ability to explain the importance of this discovery. She explains how this new discovery allows further analysis and “could bring the scientific community closer to discovering what is behind this natural animal instinct.”
ReplyDeleteAlthough many things were done well there were some things that could have been done better. First of all, her last paragraph lacked evidence. She made a point but then did not back it up with proof. Without this proof this is not as convincing to the reader as it could be. Sabine claims it is well written but does not state why it is so. Another thing that could have been done better was the grammar. Some of the sentences were awkward which took away from the overall technique. If Sabine read it over and checked it I believe it could be written more eloquently.
The most interesting thing I learned from reading this article was the fact that hyenas are able to transmit messages through these pastes. I thought it was really amazing that animals are able to communicate to each other through these pastes. Also that each Hyena has its own paste is fascinating.
I read Sabine’s article “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send Quick, Voluminous Messages.” I thought that it was extremely insightful and interesting. The article discusses the recent findings in the significance of the scent bacteria that hyenas carry. I thought that Sabine did an amazing job displaying the importance of these scent bacteria, and the role that they play in animal communication. A hyena will leave behind a paste, which lets any other hyena know everything about it. The paste is like “an information bank” collecting and holding the scents. This is truly amazing and complicated, and I thought that Sabine did a great job summarizing and explaining it. I also thought that she did a great job of connecting this discovery with other aspects of the scientific world, and really explaining its significance. This discovery prompts many questions. Can we manipulate the scents to change the bank of information? Will this experiment work when other mammals are substituted in, or does it only apply to hyenas? What other forms of communication are being employed by animals? A third thing that I really liked was how Sabine added her point of view of the article. I thought that was a great addition to her response. Two things that I thought that Sabine could have improved were more quotes from the document and more specifics about the actual experiment. Direct quotes really help to strengthen the argument, and help the reader better understand the topic. I was a little lost on what the scientists actually did to test the paste to know about the communication aspect. I would have liked to know more about that. If that wasn’t in the actual article, Sabine could have done a little research to help the reader understand. I had no idea that there could be a form of communication between hyenas using a paste. I think that really is amazing and makes me wonder what other forms of communication are out there.
ReplyDeleteOverall I think Sabine did a great job summarizing and reviewing the article “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send Quick, Voluminous Messages.” One thing I think she did particularly well was her organization. She simplified the subject and presented her summary and review in a very clear way. Sabine also did a great job connecting this article to the scientific community. She gave great insight into how this discovery is important and how it can help give us a view into whats behind animal instinct. She also did a great job connecting this article to the average person. She included the analogy from the article about twitter saying, “In a tweet, you can only use 140 characters to get your point across, but a lot can be revealed in those 140 characters, and the author of this piece was very creative in relating that concept to the idea that these animals can leave a little piece of themselves behind that can reveal a lot to other animals.” This made the article more relatable to all audiences, even outside the scientific community.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sabine did a great job, there are some aspects of her review that I believe could be improved. I think her review could have been stronger if she included more quotes from the article. The inclusion of more quotes would have given her information more scholarly evidence. Also, I think it would have been more effective for Sabine to have included more about the experiment itself. If she had included more on what actually happened in the experiment the reader would have a better idea of how the data was collected.
Overall, this article was very interesting. Sabine did a great job reviewing the article, and giving insight into how it impacts the scientific community and the average person. I was very impressed that hyenas could transmit these messages through a paste. This was something I had never heard of before and I found to be very different and interesting.
Sabine did a great job of explaining the importance of the discovery made in the article, “Bacteria May Allow Animals to Send Quick Voluminous Messages”. One part I got confused while reading the article was concerning the different sexes of hyenas, and Sabine managed to choose a simple quote which I had skimmed over in the article to help me realize another thing they had learned from the bacterial paste they left behind. She made a great connection to a more general broad topic, discussing the possibilities that other animals may be doing the same thing- using these paste to relay information, or perhaps similar ways of communication.
ReplyDeleteAlthough she did cover the main points, I wish she had talked about the scientists connected to the studies to make her summary of the article sound more credible. It would’ve been very interesting to know about the composition of the paste and how the hyena makes it, and how they can make it so that the paste relays a specific message.
I never thought that animals could relay such intricate messages using scents left in paste. It’s interesting how this discovery was made only now. It makes me wonder what the scientists had thought they had used as communication before this, and if this paste is only a side-tool for communication, and not the hyena’s main form.